CONSTRUCTING A NEW FUTURE
“There was a time when administrators would make
a decision, and they would sell it to their clinical staff.
Now there is a lot more collaboration – getting people to
provide their ideas early and provide input as the project
develops,” Whitcraft said. “Every meeting we have, we say
‘Plus/Delta’ – that kind of collaboration is needed. Getting
real feedback gives us the best chance of building the glove
that’s going to fit.”
Giving on-the-ground teams the skills and power to satisfy
issues as they arise is also important, notes Ashcroft. “By
coordinating construction activities far in advance, we
can anticipate problems and get out in front of them,”
he said. “But it’s also about adaptability. When you hear
something from the nurse manager who has a tough case
and needs us to stop doing whatever we’re doing for a
little bit, that’s an opportunity. By empowering the hospital,
people feel engaged in the process. That helps everyone
set expectations. You’ve got the power to do it – but you
use it very wisely.”
Construction experts note that speed-to-market, budgets
and the impact on patient care are all factors in executing
successful healthcare construction projects in DFW.
Through carefully detailed construction plans, technology
to help with noise and infection control, and utilizing pre-
fabrication opportunities for items that can be built before
arriving to an active healthcare site, builders can create the
kind of positive construction outcomes that their North
Texas clients are demanding.
In addition to staying out of the way of the people
providing patient care during construction, Jouvenal
explains that interfacing with clinical teams as projects
are being designed is important. As the requirements of
medical buildings and hospitals continue to get more
complex, deeper levels of expertise are needed, and
construction teams rely on collaboration and teamwork
with all project stakeholders to ensure success.
“Recently, we’ve seen a trend of physicians,
surgeons and nurses becoming a bigger part of
the design process, so we do our best to ensure a
great relationship and open lines of communication
with hospital staff, maintenance, engineering and
administration,” Jouvenal said. “At Children’s Health
Specialty Center 2 in Plano, our team created a
full-size mockup of an operating room and invited
surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses to provide
feedback as to placement of tables, equipment,
furniture, and electrical outlet locations to ensure
the completed facility will meet their needs.”
An integral part of McCarthy’s healthcare building process
involves Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), a method
of generating and managing digital representations of
projects via software. Virtual reality helps teams resolve
possible building/design issues early in the healthcare
design process.
“VDC allows our clients and partners to make informed
decisions more efficiently, it provides cost savings and it
improves safety and increased collaboration on the job
site,” Jouvenal said.
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SUMMER 2018
Patients with Perspective and Choice
When North Texans need care, they are more educated as
to how to find that care. They also perceive quality when
they walk into a facility, Whitcraft notes. “People know a
nice, quality place when they go in,” he said.
“The patient, the consumer, is way more educated than
we used to be. You don’t just go to the nearest hospital –
you’re looking for who’s got the best doctors and the best
services and amenities,” Ashcroft explained. “That will
continue to drive our construction activities as everyone
tries to keep up and serve patient needs. There’s a lot of
choice out there.”
Texas is a state that does not require a “certificate of need”
for new healthcare facilities, so construction happens
as the healthcare organizations deem it necessary. That
flexibility, combined with large economic and population
growth, has attracted many commercial builders to the
area to build that next facility. “It’s the finest competition
for healthcare construction anywhere in the country,”
Whitcraft notes.
But the need for specialized skills, teams and expertise
make healthcare construction in North Texas a high
threshold to entry. The push to build better in DFW attracts
healthcare industry experts from across the country to
look at construction being done in North Texas and how,
as part of national “go-and-see” initiatives.
We’re
We’re upgrading
upgrading our
our
natural
natural gas
gas pipelines
pipelines
from
from the
the ground
ground up.
up.
It’s
It’s how
how we
we invest
invest in
in
homes,
homes, lives
lives and
and
generations.
generations.
Over all, though, it’s a passion for the project that keeps
healthcare constructors innovating.
“I do think it’s a higher
end of construction
because it does require
so much thinking
and people, not to
mention experience.
Ultimately, you’re
involved with people’s
lives,” Whitcraft said.
“As I was growing up, I unfortunately had family that was
in and out of the hospital for many years and that really
resonated with me,” Crawford said. “I thought, ‘If I can
ever build anything that was impactful for people and
their families, it would be a place of healing.’ Obviously,
hospitals are a place of healing. It’s certainly a passion of
mine today. When we build a healthcare project, it’s about
making people feel better about themselves, mentally
and physically. It still resounds with me today and has
throughout my career.”
Atmos Energy is committed to being the
Atmos Energy is committed to being the
safest natural gas provider in the nation.
safest natural gas provider in the nation.
That’s why we’re investing more than
That’s why we’re investing more than
$750 million a year in system upgrades
$750 million a year in system upgrades
in Texas. It’s how we provide you with
in Texas. It’s how we provide you with
safe and reliable natural gas service for
safe and reliable natural gas service for
generations to come.
generations to come.